【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER THREE(4)

 Are you doing another play? Are you still in that box room? Does the flat still smell of fried onions? Is Tilly Killick still soaking her big grey bras in the washing -up bowl? Are you still at Mucho Loco or whatever it’s called? Your last letter made me laugh so much, Em, but you should still get out of there because while it’s good for gags it’s definitely bad for your soul. You can’t throw years of your life away because it makes a funny anecdote¹.

Which brings me to my reason for writing to you. Are you ready? You might want to sit down . . .

∗  ∗  ∗

So, Ian – welcome to the graveyard² of ambition!‘

Emma pushed open the  staffroom door, immediately knocking over a pint³ glass on the floor, last night‘s fags suspended in lager. The official tour had brought them to the small, dank staffroom which overlooked the Kentish Town Road, packed already with students and tourists on their way to Camden Market to buy large furry⁴ top hats and smiley face t-shirts

Loco  Caliente  means  Crazy  Hot;  ―Hot‖  because  the  air-conditioning  doesn‘t  work, ―crazy‖ because that‘s what you‘d have to be to eat here. Or work here, come to that. Mucho mucho loco. I‘ll show you where to put your stuff.‘ Together they kicked through the mulch of last week‘s newspapers to the battered⁵ old office cabinet. ‗This is your locker⁶.  It doesn‘t lock. Don‘t be tempted⁷ to leave your uniform here overnight either because someone‘ll nick it,  God  knows  why.  Management  flip  if  you  lose  your  baseball  cap.  They drown  you  face down in a vat⁸ of tangy barbecue relish—‘

Ian laughed, a hearty⁹, slightly  forced chortle, and Emma sighed and turned to the staff dining table, still covered with last night‘s dirty plates. ‗Lunch hours are twenty minutes and you can have anything from the menu except the jumbo prawns¹⁰, which I believe is what‘s known  as  a  blessing  in  disguise.  If  you  value  life,  don‘t  touch  the  jumbo  prawns.  It‘s  like Russian Roulette, one in six‘ll kill you.‘ She began to clear the table.

Here, let me—‘ said Ian, gingerly picking up a meatily smeared¹¹ plate with the tips of his fingers. New  boy  –  still squeamish, thought Emma, watching him. He had a pleasant, large open  face  beneath  the  loose  straw-coloured  curls,  smooth  ruddy cheeks  and  a  mouth  that hung open in repose¹². Not exactly handsome, but, well –  sturdy. For some reason, not entirely¹³ kind, it was a face that made her think of tractors.

Suddenly he met her gaze and she blurted¹⁴ out: ‗So tell me, Ian, what brings  you down Mexico Way.‘

‗Oh, you know. Got to pay the rent.‘

1 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

2 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

3 pint   

n.品脱

参考例句：

• I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
• In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前，花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。

4 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

5 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

6 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

7 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

8 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

9 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

10 prawns   

n.对虾，明虾( prawn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mine was a picture of four translucent prawns, with two small fish swimming above them. 给我画的是四只虾，半透明的，上画有两条小鱼。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• Shall we get some shrimp and prawns? 我们要不要买些小虾和对虾？ 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

11 smeared   

弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上

参考例句：

• The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
• A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。

12 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 blurted   

v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止，她已脱口而出。
• He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相，说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》